Tonight En Washington Heights
by eponnia
Summary: Tony doesn't die in the West Side, and Vanessa and Daniela don't move to the West Village. Usnavi, while locking up the bodega, finds Tony and Maria seeking shelter. What happens when Nina comes home from Stanford to discover her parents renting out her old room? [Tony/Maria, Usnavi/Vanessa, Benny/Nina]


Tonight En Washington Heights

Chapter 1

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: ****I recently listened to the 2009 **_**West Side Story**_** revival CD with Karen Olivo as Anita, and the same day I listened to the 2008 **_**In the Heights**_** CD (with Lin-Manuel Miranda as Usnavi and Karen Olivo as Vanessa, along with an outstanding cast). Karen Olivo was exceptional as both Vanessa and Anita, and, as I thought about these two shows, WSS and ItH are really very similar. Yes, WSS is set in the fifties and ItH is modern, but they are both set in New York. They both have love that is opposed by families – the Puerto Rican Rosarios oppose African-American Benny's relationship with their daughter Nina; the Caucasian Jets don't want their former gang member Tony, **_**heaven forbid**_**, falling in love with the Puerto Rican Maria – and her family want Maria to marry the Puerto Rican Chino, not the Caucasian Tony. Another connection between WSS and ItH: Anita could be viewed as an alternate or perhaps even an older version of Vanessa (mainly because Karen Olivo did both parts. But they have similarities other than Karen Olivo). True, there are no gangs in ItH, and no one wins the lottery in WSS. Too bad there's no Piragua guy in WSS… But at least no one shoots each other in ItH.**

**For the characters of WSS, I picture mainly the 2012 US tour cast, which was spectacular – Evy Ortiz as Maria and Ross Lekites as Tony. Michelle Aravena made an outstanding Anita, but Karen Olivo (2009 revival), hands down, IS Anita. She can't be beat.**

**For the characters of ItH, I picture Lin-Manuel Miranda as Usnavi, Karen Olivo as Vanessa, Mandy Gonzalz as Nina, and Christopher Jackson as Benny. Basically, the original cast of ItH. In case you are wondering, no, my versions of Vanessa and Anita are never going to meet. **

**Sorry for the really long author's note! Here is my West Side Story/In the Heights crossover, **_**Tonight En Washington Heights**_**. **

* * *

_And I'll take you away, take you far, far away out of here. Far, far away till the walls and the streets disappear. Somewhere there must be a place we can feel we're free! Somewhere there's got to be some place for you and for me!_

-_Somewhere, _from _West Side Story_

"Maria's dead, Tony. Chino shot her."

Tony stared at Doc, frozen. _She can't be dead, she's not dead. Doc's lying. This isn't true. Maria's not dead._ These thoughts tumbled through Tony's mind as he took a step back.

"Tony? Are you alright?"

Tony barely heard Doc's words. It was as if a fog had descended around him, making Doc's words sound faint. Nothing seemed to matter. Nothing _did_ matter. Maria was dead.

Tony suddenly began running. He ran up the stairs and into the empty drugstore. Bursting through the doors, he ran through the dark streets, his heart pounding and his blood pulsing in his ears so loud he was sure the entire street could hear it. He ran for what felt like hours and yet only minutes. Tony found he was in the Puerto Rican district, and instead of being on his guard against a possible Shark attack, he looked for Chino. He made himself a clear target, spreading out his arms to welcome death. "Come and get me, Chino!" he yelled, noticing for the first time that tears were running down his face. "I know you have a bullet left for me! Just shoot me and be done with it! End my life so I can stop living in this hell!" But there was no response. The only sound in the street was his ragged breathing. _Maria…_

He turned, hearing footsteps, and fully expecting Chino to emerge from the shadows. But then Tony saw a sight that made his heart stop for a moment, and then start pounding. Maria stood before him, her dark hair hidden under a black lace shawl. "Maria…" he breathed, taking a step forward.

A gunshot sounded, and a scream pierced the night.

Tony turned to see Anybodys' small form on the pavement, blood pouring from a bullet wound in her chest. He ran to her side, ignoring Chino, who stood a few feet away, gun in hand. When Tony knelt by Anybodys, she was already dead, blood covering her chest. He closed her eyes, hoping to give a semblance of peace to her body. Tears filled his eyes as he whispered, "I'm sorry, Anybodys." The words did not seem sufficient to convey his grief, but Tony could not find any other words to choke out. Looking up through tear-filled eyes, he saw that most of the Jets, including Action, and many PRs had gathered in the street. Anita stood apart from the crowd, eyes serious. Chino held the gun loosely in one hand, expressionless. Tony could not tell if the Puerto Rican was glad he had killed at least one of the Jets, or If he wished that the bullet had found its intended target – Tony.

He stood, his eyes meeting Maria's brown ones. Tony looked down to see a few drops of blood on his hands. Maria's delicate hands slipped into his own, offering comfort and support. He pulled her into a strong embrace, wrapping his arms around her slender frame. He breathed in the scent of _her_ that always calmed him. If it had been either of them that had been shot… Tony could not even finish the thought. He pulled back and studied her face, memorizing every angle all over again. He had come so close to losing her that he wanted to memorize everything about her once more. His eyes followed her wide forehead, soft lips, warm brown eyes, sun-tanned skin, and long, curly black hair that fell around her shoulders. She was impossibly small, with narrow shoulder and a slender frame, barely coming halfway up her chest. He held her for a moment, and then said, "Let's go, Maria." She nodded, and they walked through the crowd of Sharks and Jets into the night.

No one stopped them.

* * *

After Anybodys' funeral, Tony and Maria left the West Side.

They did not ask for anyone's permission, but packed a few items and left in the middle of the night. Maria left a note for Anita, and Tony gave Doc a message to give to Action, but that was the only trace they left behind.

They boarded the A train, a few bags in hand. Maria fell asleep on Tony's shoulder as the train took them father and father away from the turmoil they were trying to escape. The train passed Harlem, and, when they got off, they were in Northern Manhattan on 181st Street. The sun was setting behind the apartment buildings that lined the street, the silhouette of the George Washington Bridge towering above them. They were in Washington Heights.

As the sky grew darker by the minute, Tony and Maria looked for a place to stay the night. The street was dark, streetlights flickering as they turned a corner. A bodega was the only place that betrayed life on the nearly empty street. A thirty-something-year-old man, wearing a black newsboy cap with white Nike stripes, a red Hawaiian shirt and gray jeans, stood before the bodega. He was pulling down the grate, a ripped awning above his head, as Tony and Maria approached. The man looked up as Tony spoke.

"Excuse me, but do you know of any hotels nearby?" Tony asked.

"This is a mainly residential area," the man said. "There aren't any hotels for miles around. Sorry." The grate fell shut with a clang, revealing a large portrait of a gray-haired woman against a background of palm trees, the words _Paciencia Y Fe_ written above her.

"Who is she?" Maria asked, gazing at the portrait.

"My Abuela Claudia," the man said. "She passed away two days ago." The trio fell silent out of respect for the dead. After a pause, he added, "She wasn't really my grandmother, but she practically raised me ever since my folks passed on, leaving me with this place…" He trailed off, gazing at the store.

They turned to see a pair of young men running towards them, laughing and talking loud enough to disturb the quiet. Once carried a few cans of spray paint, wearing an oversized, sleeveless gray coat, a hood pulled up to throw his face into darkness. The other wore a baseball hat backwards and clothes that were a few sizes too big. They were just a year or two older than teenagers, and had the look of young men thrust into adulthood a bit too early.

"Sonny, Graffiti Pete, be quiet or you'll wake the whole neighborhood!" the man said.

"Chillax, you know you love me, Usnavi!" the one with the baseball hat said with a smile. "Graffiti Pete and I were discussing his new artistic series."

"It's nearly midnight, Sonny. Some other time," said the man that Tony and Maria guessed was called Usnavi. "Go home, Graffiti Pete! Come by tomorrow." As Graffiti Pete left, Usnavi called out, "And pull your pants up!" He sighed, frustrated, but caught Tony and Maria's gaze. "Yeah, my name's Usnavi. You probably never heard my name before," he said with a weary smile.

"I'm Puerto Rican, so I've heard my share of names that are unusual here in America. But Usnavi…" Maria said with a smile.

"Is one you don't hear around?" Usnavi said, and Maria nodded. "My parents were from the Dominican Republic, but my name's not from the DR. When my family came to America, my father looked at the ship and said, 'Usnavi, that's what we'll name the baby.' It really said U.S. Navy, but I worked with it." Usnavi checked his watch. "About getting you a place for the night…"

"What about the Rosarios? They're renting out Nina's room," Sonny said.

"What if Nina comes home to visit? Does she know their renting out her room?" Usnavi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm sure she's fine with it," Sonny said with a shrug.

Usnavi sighed. "It won't hurt to ask." He finished locking up the bodega, saying, "Sonny, go on home. I'll meet you there later." Sonny left, and Usnavi led Tony and Maria across the street to a modest apartment with a sign proclaiming _Room For Rent_. Usnavi knocked on the door, and, after a moment, it swung open.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, I hope everyone likes this. Do the world of _West Side Story_ and _In the Heights_ merge as well as I hoped they would? Forgive me for killing Anybodys, but Tony has to live for _Tonight En Washington Heights_ to work... **


End file.
